For Tiger, winning does take care of everything

By Roxanne Jones, Special to CNN

Updated 10:06 AM ET, Wed March 27, 2013

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

Tiger Woods says he is planning to return to action in October after missing over a year of competitive action. The 40-year-old has undergone multiple back surgeries over past year and has not competed since August 2015.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

The 14-time major winner has a long history of injury problems. Here he has cream rubbed onto his back by caddy Steve Williams during the 2004 American Express Championship.

In October 2010, Woods appears dejected after losing a match to Lee Westwood and Luke Donald in the Ryder Cup teams competition in Wales. Later that month he lost his No. 1 ranking to Westwood, a position he had held for 281 consecutive weeks. He had taken a break from golf earlier that year after reports of marital infidelities emerged in late 2009.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

Woods misses a putt at the Frys.com Open in October 2011. That month, he fell out of golf's top 50 for the first time in almost 15 years. Woods reportedly lost millions in endorsements after sponsors ended their ties with him in the wake of his sex scandal.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

Despite his problems, Woods remained a key attraction -- being invited to the 2011 Australian Open, where he finished third. That year he was the highest-paid American athlete on Sports Illustrated's "Fortunate 50" list.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

In July 2011, Woods dropped Williams, his caddy of 12 years. "I want to express my deepest gratitude to Stevie for all his help, but I think it's time for a change," Woods said.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

After a nearly three-month break, Woods returned to golf at the Bridgestone Invitational in August 2011.

In October 2011, Woods landed Rolex as a sponsor despite not having won a major tournament in nearly two years. "Rolex is convinced that Tiger Woods still has a long career ahead of him," the high-end watchmaker said. The following month he played for the U.S. in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne, Australia.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

In December 2011, Woods earned his first win in two years at the Chevron World Challenge, a charity tournament that he hosts which does not count on the PGA Tour money list.

Woods signs autographs at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March 2012. His win there marked his first PGA Tour victory since September 2009.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

Woods drops the ball on the 15th fairway during the final round of the AT&T National in July 2012. He overtook Jack Nicklaus for second place on the all-time PGA Tour victory list and now has 79 overall -- three behind Sam Snead's record.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

In 2012, Woods became the first PGA Tour player to earn $100 million when he finished third at the Deutsche Bank Championship, taking home more than $500,000.

Woods holds the trophy for the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in January 2013, where he clinched his 75th PGA Tour title.

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Photos:Tiger Woods: From highs to lows

In March 2013, Woods and Lindsey Vonn announced they were dating on Facebook. In January that year, the champion skier had finalized her divorce from Thomas Vonn, after initializing proceedings in 2011. Woods split up with his wife, Elin Nordegren, in 2010 after admitting a series of infidelities. In May 2015, Woods and Vonn announced their breakup, with the golfer claiming he "hadn't slept" in the days following.

"Winning Takes Care of Everything," proclaims his most recent Nike ad, as a focused Tiger crouches in the background. When I first saw the ad, I thought: Wow, bold move by Nike. It's an in-your-face, unapologetic statement.

Back in 2009, when Woods took his public plunge into disgrace by cheating on his wife with a long list of silicone-enhanced beauties, we criticized him for being a fake. We said he'd lied not only to his wife but also to his adoring public, who apparently thought he was a near-God. We said he was the role model for our kids.

Roxanne Jones

But I never thought it was Tiger's job to teach my son how to be a responsible, loving husband or father. That's a job for parents. Of course, I'm not excusing his behavior, but I am not his judge. His wife and family -- and Tiger himself -- really were the only ones hurt by his actions.

Well, now Tiger is being real. He's being honest with the public. We should be happy. He's finally speaking his mind so there can be no question of what type of man he is today. And I say, good for him.

And good for Nike for standing by him through what was in the end just a personal flaw. It's not like he's Lance Armstrong, who used enhancement drugs throughout his career and sabotaged an entire sport for years. Woods did not have to give back his championships because he cheated his sport, his fans or his sponsors.

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Don't be mad at Tiger. It was never him we were disappointed in anyway. It was the cheating boyfriend or spouse who broke our hearts and split up our families. Be mad at the problems in your own personal life. Or, be mad at yourself. I know when I've screwed up, if I'm honest, the first person to be upset with is myself. Tiger has nothing to do with my life or relationships.

The Nike ad may be offensive to those who don't quite understand sports culture, or work in extremely competitive environments such as sales, or Wall Street, and even politics. But in those worlds, nothing could be truer than "winning takes care of everything." In those worlds you are only as good as your last big win.

Photos: Redemption through sports

How many times have we said to ourselves at work: "I can turn my career around with one success on my next project?" Or, "One win will make my bosses happy and all will be forgotten?" How many of us say to our kids who play sports: "Hang in there. All you need is one game-winning goal and that will change everything. Everyone will forget you haven't scored all season."

Winning does change things. Just think of Super Bowl Champion Ray Lewis, who the NFL calls one of the best men to ever play the game. Or former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel, who was a king for a decade, surviving numerous scandals until he was forced to resign amid NCAA rules sanctions. Tressel then went on to work for the NFL. Why? Because he knows how to win.

Does anyone think Joe Paterno would have lasted so long at Penn State among the allegations of child sex abuse if the football program was down-and-out? No, sadly, it was the winning and the big money that kept Paterno and others safe. Heck, even Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton reclaimed their status as kingmakers after personal disgraces.

We are a forgiving nation. For me, nothing is better than someone who can get back up and succeed after a bloody knockout. Tiger got back up. And I hope this time around he can relax, be himself and enjoy the game.